"Major powers plan to cut up China for themselves; US, Germany, Italy, UK, France, Russia, Austria" source

Century of humiliation

The century of humiliation “is the term used in China to describe the period of intervention and subjugation of the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China by Western powers and Japan from 1839 to 1949.” source

Between 1839 to 1949, due to the colonial expansion of European and Eurasian powers, and the relative weakness of the Qing Dynasty and subsequent governments to control its own sovereignty…China was forced into trading arrangements that were not beneficial to the Chinese people, ie…when the British were siphoning silver out of the Chinese population in exchange for opium which was poisoning the Chinese people.

In the above British example, when the Qing Dynasty attempted to close trade with the British, this eventually led to the First Opium War for control of British access to Chinese markets, which the Chinese lost, and had to cede Hong Kong to the British for the next 150 years.

But this would not be the first war the Chinese would lose, and not the only concession to be given up. These concessions and loss of territory to foreign powers has shaped China's view that...

If China is weak, and cannot control its own sovereignty, it's people will suffer. So being a powerful China, controlling all of Chinese sovereignty, will help ensure its people's prosperity. And part of Chinese sovereignty is Taiwan.

Ceded Territories from China:

source
Outer Manchuria, parts of Northwest China and Sakhalin ceded to the Russian Empire in 1858 and 1860 to Present

source
Jiaozhou Bay ceded to Germany - from 1898 to 1997

source
Hong Kong ceded to Great Britain from 1842 to 1997
Macau ceded to Portugal from 1887 to 1987

source
Zhanjiang ceded to France from 1898 to 1943

source
Manchuria, Taiwan, Dalian and many other territories ceded to Japan from 1895 to 1945

As you can see from the maps, major powers carved up China because China did not have the power to prevent them from doing so.

"The corpses of Chinese civilians killed by the Imperial Japanese Army in the 1937 Nanjing Massacre" source

Japanese Occupation and Nanjing Massacre

Testimony of Chen Jiashou
“My name is Chen Jiashou. I was born on September 16, 1918. When the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Nanjing in 1937, I was living in a small Nanjing district with my Uncle, Mother and Father, my two brothers and my sister. At that time, I was only 19 years old…I watched as a group of armed Japanese soldiers hustled several lines of about two hundred Chinese troops toward the edge of the pond, surrounding them with weapons to prevent them from escaping…I was also ordered to stand among the front line of Chinese soldiers. I [was] terribly frightened."

"Thus, the instant the Japanese soldiers opened fire on us all, I immediately fell toward the ground, faking my death. Struck by the flying bullets, my Chinese comrades all piled up on my body. Right up till it got dark and the Japanese soldiers had all left, I lay under the dead bodies, not daring to move. Only then did I climb out from under the pile of bodies. It was thus how I became a fortunate survivor of the Nanjing massacre.”

This testimony is among the tens of thousands of atrocities that the Imperial Japanese Army perpetrated on the Chinese people during the Japanese occupation of China from 1931 to 1945.

"Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong met in Chongqing in 1945." source

Taiwan history and Chinese Communist Party thought.

China was humiliated for a century, because it was weak politically, economically and militarily, and couldn’t control it's own sovereignty. When the Chinese Communist Party talks about sovereign integrity, they are referring to the century of humiliation where they lost so much territory to so many foreign nations. Taiwan is part of that history.

China's mainland control over Taiwan started in 1683 under the Qing Dynasty. It was taken by the Japanese in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese war. Between 1927 and 1949, the Chinese Nationalist and the Chinese Communists were embroiled in a civil war. They temporarily suspended the Civil War to fight the Japanese.

When the Japanese were defeated at the end of World War II in 1945, the Chinese Nationalist under Chiang Kai-shek, with the assistance of the American military, took control of Taiwan. Then in 1949, the Chinese Nationalists were forced to completely flee mainland China to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War on the mainland against the Chinese Communists under Mao Zedong.

Due to the dynamics of the Cold War, the United States had a dim view of communism. So the Soviet Union and Communist China became the enemy of the US. By default, Taiwan became the United States’ friend and supported Taiwan against Communist China expansion.

Since 1949, from China's perspective, the United States has directly prevented China from settling their Civil War and reunifying with Taiwan, thus not closing the chapter of humiliation that China has suffered since 1839.

This is where we stand today.

Things to keep in mind.

Nations often persist and expand if the environment is conducive for it…meaning no other power prevents them from doing so.

In the 19th century, the United States had a policy of "manifest destiny" to push from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. The US bought lands from foreign powers such as the Louisiana Purchase from France. Those who would not sell the US their land, the US would take it by force such as most of the southwest United States that was taken from Mexico during the Mexican–American War.

The US took the land, because it could. Powerful nations do this. So it's important to keep that in mind with China and Taiwan.

China may not technically have historical claims within the nine dash line, or disputed parts of the line of control with India, or even Taiwan… but in realpolitik, it's not about what you claim is yours, it's what you can take as yours.

In Conclusion.

China's view of Taiwan is about sovereign integrity…controlling ALL of China. The century of humiliation to the Chinese is deep and historically connected to the future prosperity of China. In order for China to have a prosperous future, it must control all of its territories that were taken from it during the century of humiliation.

It is my opinion that China will not back down from this commitment to reunify Taiwan. From China's perspective, they cannot move forward in their national rejuvenation unless Taiwan is part of it, because Taiwan is China. And if they have to, they will fight a war to make it happen.

Stay frosty people.